Deck 13: The Impending Crisis Key

Question 1

In 1836,Texas did not immediately join the United States,in part because

A) the American leadership in Texas delayed in applying for statehood.
B) President Andrew Jackson thought it would add to sectional tensions.
C) Congress feared that giving statehood to Texas might lead to war with Mexico.
D) settlers in Texas overwhelmingly objected to becoming part of the United States.
E) England had forged its own political ties to Texas.

Answer 1

President Andrew Jackson thought it would add to sectional tensions.

Question 2

The Mexican War resulted in large part from

A) Mexico provoking the United States to fight.
B) the United States provoking Mexico to fight.
C) Mexican forces attacking Americans in California.
D) Texas citizens attacking Mexican forces.
E) Texas citizens staging an attack by Mexican forces.

Answer 2

the United States provoking Mexico to fight.

Question 3

Within the ideology of Manifest Destiny were all the following beliefs EXCEPT that

A) the United States was destined by God and history to expand in size.
B) the United States should create a vast new "empire of liberty."
C) U.S. expansion was acceptable so long as it stayed out of Mexico and Canada.
D) None of these answers is correct, as all of these were beliefs encompassed by the ideology of Manifest Destiny.
E) the growth of the United States should ultimately include much of the rest of the world.

Answer 3

U.S. expansion was acceptable so long as it stayed out of Mexico and Canada.

Question 4

During the Mexican War,

A) American settlers in California staged a revolt with the help of the United States navy.
B) victory came more easily than President Polk had anticipated.
C) President Polk considered Zachary Taylor to be his closest ally in Mexico.
D) the actual fighting was confined to Texas and Mexico.
E) President Polk tried to placate Whigs by minimizing military offensives.

Question 5

Before the early 1850s,Americans who traveled west on the overland trails were generally

A) over the age of thirty.
B) relatively young people who traveled in family groups.
C) wealthy.
D) domestic servants and prostitutes.
E) from the eastern seaboard states.

Question 6

The presidential election of 1844

A) was primarily a referendum on the leadership of John Tyler.
B) saw a northerner win the presidency.
C) was won by a Democrat.
D) was a contest between Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren.
E) was a contest between two solidly pro-expansionists.

Question 7

The key to victory for the United States in the Mexican War was

A) the Bear Flag Revolt in California.
B) Nicholas Trist's diplomatic maneuvering.
C) Stephen Kearny's capture of Santa Fe.
D) Winfield Scott's seizure of Mexico City.
E) Zachary Taylor's taking of Monterrey.

Question 8

In 1845,the immediate cause of war with Mexico was

A) a dispute over tariffs.
B) the Alamo.
C) the issue of slavery.
D) Mexico's debt to the United States.
E) a dispute over territory.

Question 9

In 1844,President James K.Polk supported the acquisition of

A) Cuba.
B) Texas.
C) Oregon and Texas.
D) Cuba and Texas.
E) Oregon.

Question 10

Between 1840 and 1860,most migrants traveling west on the overland trails

A) found the journey to be a very collective experience.
B) usually faced trips that lasted between two to three months.
C) experienced frequent Indian attacks, which was a leading cause of death.
D) saw men generally working harder during the trip than women.
E) rode in wagons much more than they walked on foot.

Question 11

In the 1820s,most of the settlers from the United States who migrated to Texas were

A) white southerners and their slaves.
B) white northerners.
C) recently-arrived European immigrants.
D) whites from the Far West.
E) free blacks.

Question 12

President James K.Polk

A) entered office with very few concrete plans about what he wanted to achieve.
B) had not held any significant electoral office before becoming president.
C) opposed the occupation of Oregon.
D) helped his candidacy for office by expressing a desire to re-annex Texas.
E) was generally a pacifist, but was ultimately pushed into faster occupation of the West.

Question 13

Which of the following towns served as a major departure point for migrants traveling west on the overland trails?

A) Cedar Rapids, Iowa
B) St. Louis, Missouri
C) Kansas City, Missouri
D) Ames, Iowa
E) Independence, Missouri

Question 14

In 1836,the Battle of San Jacinto

A) resulted in victory for forces led by Stephen Austin.
B) led to independence for Texas.
C) saw Sam Houston briefly taken prisoner.
D) was a victory for General Santa Anna.
E) saw British troops fight alongside Mexican troops.

Question 15

In 1836,an attack by Mexican forces on the Alamo mission

A) led Americans in Texas to proclaim their independence from Mexico.
B) began the Mexican War.
C) was a surprising victory for American forces in Texas.
D) saw the American garrison executed after it had surrendered.
E) saw the death of Davy Crockett.

Question 16

In the mid-1840s,the "Oregon country" in the Pacific Northwest

A) remained the center of the French fur-trading empire.
B) was of little interest to the American government.
C) included an Indian population that had been devastated by disease.
D) was primarily occupied by Great Britain.
E) contained many more English settlers than Americans.

Question 17

As president,James K.Polk

A) refused the Texas claim to territory that included much of modern New Mexico.
B) sought war with Britain to resolve the Oregon dispute.
C) convinced the British government to divide Oregon at the 54°40ʹ parallel.
D) None of these answers is correct.
E) won congressional approval for the annexation of Texas.

Question 18

Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,the United States

A) officially acquired only Texas.
B) established an open border with Mexico.
C) gave up rights to California (for a time) in exchange for New Mexico and Texas.
D) established an American protectorate over Mexico.
E) agreed to pay millions to Mexico.

Question 19

In the 1820s and 1830s,the government of Mexico

A) remained noncommittal about American immigration into Texas.
B) consistently favored American immigration into Texas.
C) moved from favoring to opposing American immigration into Texas.
D) moved from opposing to favoring American immigration into Texas.
E) consistently opposed American immigration into Texas.

Question 20

In the 1840s,critics of territorial expansion by the United States

A) All these answers are correct.
B) found their greatest support in the "penny press."
C) warned it would increase the controversy over slavery.
D) enjoyed considerable political support.
E) warned that further expansion would cause rifts with Indian tribes.

Question 21

The Compromise of 1850 allowed for the admission of California

A) with the agreement that there would be no additional states added for ten years.
B) as a free state, along with Utah and New Mexico as slave states.
C) as a slave state.
D) along with an agreement to construct a transcontinental railroad.
E) along with a strengthened fugitive slave law.

Question 22

In the 1850s,the "Young America" movement

A) believed America should avoid the slavery controversy by limiting future expansion.
B) was promoted by Whigs.
C) supported the expansion of American democracy throughout the world.
D) called for a national resolution of the slave controversy.
E) called for a constitutional ban on slavery.

Question 23

In the 1840s,regional critics of President James K.Polk claimed his policies favored the

A) Northwest.
B) South.
C) North.
D) West.
E) East.

Question 24

In 1849,President Zachary Taylor favored admitting California

A) as a slave state.
B) as two separate states, one slave and one free.
C) with no determination on the issue of slavery.
D) as a free state.
E) as a territory.

Question 25

The 1854 Ostend Manifesto

A) saw several European powers denounce American slavery.
B) was part of an attempt by the United States to acquire Cuba.
C) prohibited slavery in the Hawaiian Islands.
D) enraged southern slaveowners.
E) was directed at limiting England's influence in the Caribbean.

Question 26

Which of the following statements regarding the Kansas-Nebraska Act is FALSE?

A) It led to the creation of the Republican Party.
B) It created two new territories.
C) It divided and destroyed the Whig Party.
D) It explicitly repealed the Missouri Compromise.
E) It was sponsored by Henry Clay.

Question 27

When President Polk received the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,he

A) faced criticism for failing to acquire all of Mexico.
B) angrily claimed that Trist had violated his instructions.
C) became concerned about the expansion of slavery into the new territories.
D) readily accepted the treaty.
E) made plans for a military occupation of Mexico City.

Question 28

When it came to the issue of the extension of slavery,President James K.Polk favored

A) an extension of the Missouri Compromise.
B) abolitionism.
C) popular sovereignty.
D) the Wilmot Proviso.
E) Free Soil.

Question 29

The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act

A) upset southerners as much as northerners, but was readily accepted by northerners in the spirit of compromise.
B) intensified the debate over slavery.
C) was readily accepted by northerners in the spirit of compromise.
D) None of these answers is correct.
E) upset southerners as much as northerners.

Question 30

The Chinese who came to California during the gold rush

A) usually came with their families.
B) found themselves banned from working in the mines.
C) had aspirations similar to those of American participants.
D) more often worked as merchants than miners.
E) typically planned to remain permanently in the state.

Question 31

In the 1850s,the issue of slavery complicated the proposal to build a transcontinental railroad,as

A) it raised the question of whether or not slaves would be used as railroad labor, and British banks refused to help fund the projects as long as slavery existed in the U.S.
B) None of these answers is correct.
C) British banks refused to help fund the project as long as slavery existed in the United States.
D) it raised the question of whether or not slaves would be used as railroad labor.
E) non-slaveowning northerners and slaveowning southerners could not agree on a route.

Question 32

The 1853 Gadsden Purchase

A) cost the United States government $25 million.
B) was made with England.
C) advanced the cause of a southern route for the transcontinental railroad.
D) fulfilled the treaty ending the Mexican War.
E) temporarily calmed the rivalry between North and South.

Question 33

The admission of California into the United States was a divisive national issue because

A) California adopted a constitution that allowed slavery.
B) westerners in other territories believed they deserved statehood before California.
C) lawmakers believed California gold would upset the currency and cause inflation.
D) California's entry would upset the nation's numerical balance of free and slave states.
E) most Californians opposed entry into the United States.

Question 34

During the debate on the Compromise of 1850,

A)Daniel Webster managed to forge a successful compromise.
B)Jefferson Davis resigned from the Senate.
C)Stephen A.Douglas stepped down as secretary of state.
D)John C.Calhoun called for southern secession if California were admitted as a free state.
E)President Zachary Taylor suddenly died.

Question 35

In the California gold rush,

A) few of the participants ended up staying in California.
B) a majority of the participants found some quantities of gold.
C) upwards of ninety-five percent of the "Forty-niners" were men.
D) most of the participants were seasoned miners.
E) Chinese immigrants who arrived were unable to find work.

Question 36

In the 1850s,in an effort to undercut the Fugitive Slave Act,some northern states

A) proposed a national referendum on the slave issue.
B) passed laws preventing the deportation of fugitive slaves.
C) called for secession from the South.
D) began actively funding the underground railroad.
E) forbid fugitive slave hunters from traveling in their state.

Question 37

As a result of the gold rush,by 1850,

A) Californian Indians saw their social conditions improve.
B) California's population had become even more diverse.
C) California had a population larger than any state in the Union.
D) California became virulently antislavery.
E) California had a large surplus of labor.

Question 38

In the election of 1852,

A) the Free-Soil Party endorsed the Compromise of 1850.
B) neither party endorsed the Compromise of 1850.
C) the Whigs were united.
D) the Democrats selected a war hero as their candidate.
E) the Free-Soil Party gained strength.

Question 39

The Wilmot Proviso

A) overturned the Missouri Compromise.
B) was an appropriation to pay for peace with Mexico.
C) banned all slavery west of the Mississippi River.
D) prohibited slavery in any land acquired from Mexico.
E) passed in the House and was signed into law.

Question 40

In the 1848 elections,the new party that emerged as a political force was the

A) Liberty Party.
B) Whig Party.
C) Free-Soil Party.
D) Republican Party.
E) Know-Nothing Party.

Question 41

James Buchanan

A) opposed the admission of Kansas as a slave state.
B) refused to enforce the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision.
C) weakly opposed the Dred Scott decision.
D) pressured Congress to admit Kansas under the Lecompton constitution.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 42

In the 1858 Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas debates,

A) Douglas asserted that slavery was legal but not immoral.
B) the two men agreed that a civil war over slavery was inevitable.
C) Lincoln made his case so strongly that he was elected to the Senate.
D) Lincoln called for a full and immediate abolition of slavery.
E) Lincoln argued slavery was a threat to the growth of white free labor.

Question 43

In the mid-1850s,the struggle over Kansas saw

A) a large antislavery posse sack the pro-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas.
B) John Brown murder several pro-slavery settlers.
C) President Franklin Pierce oppose pro-slavery settlers in the territory.
D) federal troops take military control of the region.
E) the Missouri legislature ban its own citizens from entering Kansas.

Question 44

Southern defenders of slavery made all the following arguments EXCEPT that

A) blacks were inherently unfit to take care of themselves.
B) the southern way of life was superior to any other in the world.
C) slavery allowed whites and blacks to live together peacefully.
D) southern slaves enjoyed better conditions than northern industrial workers.
E) black codes protected slaves from abuse.

Question 45

The political party that came into being largely in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act was the

A) Know-Nothings.
B) Populist Party.
C) Republican Party.
D) Jayhawk Party.
E) Abolitionist Party.

Question 46

The 1857 Lecompton (Kansas)constitution was

A) antislavery.
B) approved and later reaffirmed by Kansas voters.
C) written by Stephen Douglas.
D) twice rejected by a majority of Kansas voters.
E) rejected, then approved by Kansas voters.

Question 47

The election of 1856 saw

A) former president Millard Fillmore in the running.
B) no significant third party in the field.
C) the Republicans run against the idea of internal improvements.
D) the Whig Party make a strong comeback.
E) the Democrats elect a young and forceful pro-slavery leader.

Question 48

The "free soil" ideology included

A) a call to end slavery in the United States as soon as possible.
B) the argument that slavery was tremendously harmful to American blacks.
C) an argument for black male suffrage.
D) the use of military force to suppress slavery.
E) opposition to the expansion of slavery.

Question 49

The 1856 beating of Charles Sumner on the floor of the United States Senate

A) was in response to a pro-slavery speech he had given.
B) was strongly condemned in the South.
C) was a vicious assault carried out by a member of the House of Representatives.
D) All these answers are correct.
E) resulted in Sumner's death from his injuries weeks later.

Question 50

In the 1860 elections,the political party most deeply divided over slavery was the

A) Know-Nothing Party.
B) Constitutional Union Party.
C) Whig Party.
D) Republican Party.
E) Democratic Party.

Question 51

In The Pro-Slavery Argument (1837),John C.Calhoun stated that slavery was

A)the "American way of life."
B)a "positive good."
C)likely to end in the United States within fifty years.
D)likely to be adopted by non-slave states within fifty years.
E)a "necessary evil."

Question 52

Kansas entered the United States

A) as a slave state.
B) during the administration of Abraham Lincoln.
C) at the same time the former Confederate states rejoined the Union.
D) as a free state.
E) well after the Civil War ended.

Question 53

held that

A) states were not allowed to abolish slavery within their borders.
B) the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
C) Scott must be freed under federal law.
D) the freedom of a slave could not be purchased by a black person.
E) slaves were property unless they moved to a free state.

Question 54

The first Republican candidate for president was

A)James Buchanan.
B)Abraham Lincoln.
C)John C.Frémont.
D)Stephen Douglas.
E)Millard Fillmore.

Question 55

In the election of 1860,

A)white southerners concluded that their position in the Union was hopeless.
B)John Bell and John.C.Breckinridge,taken together,bested Lincoln in the popular vote.
C)Stephen Douglas received a larger popular vote than Abraham Lincoln.
D)the Republicans won a narrow majority in Congress.
E)the Republicans called for a suspension of plans for a transcontinental railroad

Question 56

Following John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry,many southerners were convinced that

A) northern politicians would use the raid as an excuse to further restrict slavery.
B) the raid was the isolated act of an antislavery fanatic.
C) his execution would put a stop to northern agitation over slavery once and for all.
D) Brown had been given support by the Republican Party.
E) the abolitionist movement would shortly fall into disgrace.

Question 57

During the 1858 Abraham Lincoln-Stephen Douglas debates,it became clear that Lincoln

A) believed slavery was morally wrong, but was not an abolitionist.
B) believed slavery was morally acceptable under certain conditions.
C) was an abolitionist
D) believed racial equality was feasible at the time if certain concessions were made to southern elites.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 58

As a result of his 1858 debates with Stephen Douglas,Abraham Lincoln

A) was appointed to an open House seat by the Republican governor of Illinois.
B) gained many new supporters outside of Illinois.
C) won election to the United States Senate.
D) was appointed to the leadership of the Republican Party.
E) came to be regarded by southerners as an antislavery fanatic.

Question 59

In the election of 1860,

A) Abraham Lincoln was elected with less than half of the popular vote.
B) Abraham Lincoln's relative obscurity proved to be a drawback.
C) the Republican political platform called for an end to slavery.
D) Stephen Douglas narrowly lost in the electoral vote.
E) disenchanted northern Democrats nominated John Bell for president.

Question 60

Some advocates of Manifest Destiny believed the United States should control the Western Hemisphere.

Question 61

The Kansas-Nebraska Act included an explicit repeal of the Missouri Compromise.

Question 62

The Dred Scott decision represented a stunning defeat for the pro-slavery movement.

Question 63

In the Mexican War,American troops seized the capital of Mexico City.

Question 64

When Mexico refused a U.S.offer to purchase the disputed territories,Polk ordered Taylor's army in Texas to enter Mexican territory.

Question 65

The Compromise of 1850 included a Fugitive Slave Act.

Question 66

Texas was a territory of Mexico at the time that it came into the Union.

Question 67

Only a tiny fraction of the so-called Forty-niners ever discovered gold in California.

Question 68

Abraham Lincoln believed that slavery was wrong,but he was not an abolitionist.

Question 69

The presidential election of 1844 was a contest between Henry Clay and Martin Van Buren.

Question 70

In the 1820s,the United States and Britain jointly occupied Oregon.

Question 71

President Andrew Jackson did not favor the annexation of Texas.

Question 72

Lincoln was elected in 1860 with less than a majority of the popular vote.

Question 73

Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican candidate to run for president.

Question 74

The Compromise of 1850 abolished slavery in the District of Columbia.

Question 75

The Free-Soil ideology was closely linked to the free labor argument.

Question 76

In 1844,the Democratic Party was more pro-expansionist than was the Whig Party.

Question 77

The Kansas-Nebraska Act helped create the Republican Party.

Question 78

President Taylor favored admitting California to the Union as a free state.

Question 79

On the trails westward,almost everyone,male and female,walked most of the time.

Question 80

The Wilmot Proviso passed in Congress but was vetoed by President Polk.